eFinancialCareers

Scottish investment consultants are paying top dollar for scarce actuarial talent.

These are good times for the actuarial profession. Pension fund deficits and an ever-more stringent financial services regulatory regime are fuelling demand for this higher breed of bean counter, according to Scots financial services recruiters. Add to this the fact that Scotland's booming life insurance industry has a hefty actuarial appetite and you can see why what amounts to a limited talent pool is heavily fished.

Just how important Scotland's actuarial community has become is illustrated by the fact that Institute of Actuaries plans to stage one of two key business events in Edinburgh in 2009.

Actuaries work in the insurance and pension industries to mathematically analyse liabilities and assess the need for corresponding assets.

What can you earn if you become one? Entry-level salaries for part-qualified actuaries are now around the £40k mark, rising to double that for those who are qualified, says Lynn Wilson, consultant at Elite Appointments in Glasgow.

Actuaries with more than five years' experience can be taking home more than £100k plus benefits, says Nick Smith, business director for recruiter Hays in Glasgow: "It's not just the banks that want them [actuaries] but life companies too. Many of the big life companies are now headed by actuaries, so there is a good career path," he says.

"Anyone who has some ability or whose track record is good is going to have no trouble getting hired, and I can only see this trend continuing," he adds.